Wandering through a trendy cheese shop in a hip neighborhood of Brooklyn, Matthew Schmitz—a Catholic native of Nebraska—found himself suddenly put off by the studied anti-Catholic crassness of an advertisement and longing for the authenticity and traditionalism of a nearby ḥasidic enclave. But a conversation with a perceptive rabbi and further reflection revealed the perils of his sudden romanticization of his neighbors. He concludes:
Because I live so much of my life in the endlessly sampling Brooklyn that is now ubiquitous, I feel all the more strongly the appeal of a Brooklyn that offers thick tradition rather than a catalogue of aesthetic options. . . .
[However], starry-eyed longing for a binding community can become yet another way of surrendering to this world. Rather than living and working where we are, we dream of where else we might be. A vision of pristine community becomes yet another “option” in the endless parade of vintage, artisanal, and local things that excite our desire without demanding our love. Even with my rabbi’s warning, I am not sure that I can resist dreaming of a better community. As I do, I think I’ll look for a place to live on the border of the two neighborhoods I saw that day, somewhere between the hipsters and the Ḥasidim.
Read more on First Things: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2016/03/between-the-hipsters-and-the-hasids